


Breathless

by HungryLibrary



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, New Relationship, letting go, of course since it's ruby this all happens during a sparring match, sappy such
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-28 20:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5105552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HungryLibrary/pseuds/HungryLibrary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Old feelings end with a new start.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathless

Her shield slams forward into empty air and rose petals. They dance around her as she spins, tantalizing and distracting from the telltale hum of metal, there, coming in fast on her right-

Pyrrha blocks with sword against scythe and will against steel. They crash together, boots skidding on postmarked stone as Ruby’s momentum carries them backward.

She feels the twist as Ruby tries to dart away again, a whirlwind at its most dangerous when in constant motion- she holds fast to hum in her mind until it resonates with her Aura. 

Ruby is strong, especially with a little space to harness her momentum, but Pyrrha is stronger.

There’s a tug where scythe and sword connect, nothing more. If Ruby wants to get away then she will have to leave her weapon behind.

She never would.

Pyrrha knows this and can’t help but grin. 

She’s still grinning, readying for the last move to take her sparring partner down, when silver eyes go bright with an idea and suddenly they are much much closer-

It’s the gentlest brush of lips on cheek, so quick no one else would have noticed.

But Pyrrha’s heart booms like thunder from the shock of it, skipping beats as her focus goes slack, semblance fumbling it its wake.

Ruby quickly whips her scythe away, grinning through the faint pink of her blush. 

The blush and the grin catch Pyrrha off guard again. Stumbling back as she barely dodges a strike, a strike Ruby sinks into the floor and uses as an anchor to twirl herself up into the air and then WHAM.

It’s just like that long ago food fight all over again.

Even though Pyrrha raises her shield in time, there’s just too much power behind the full body kick. 

She slams into the ground and skids ten feet before coming to a stop, too dazed to even roll into a counterattack. And it’s been years since she last had the wind knocked of her but she’s relatively certain this is what it feels like.

Then Ruby comes into view, grinning and windswept, scythe dangling behind her back as she skips over to Pyrrha’s stunned form.

There’s a bit of mischief in her victory. A touch of fun

Until a moment passes and silver eyes pinch with worry when Pyrrha makes no move to stand.

Nervousness creeps in. Ruby shrinks down into herself, twisting Crescent Rose’s shaft between her hands now, leaning back as the blood starts draining from her face, about to apologize or vanish in a scatter of rose petals or both-

Pyrrha does not want Ruby to go or feel guilty.

However she does wish, as she sits up with a smile and lifts a hand to tingling cheek, that gloves didn’t happen to be part of her combat gear- the black fabric stood between her curious finger tips and the warmth she was sure Ruby’s little kiss had left behind.

Ruby watches and shuffles her boots. She tries to smile back even though she looks almost nervous enough to be sick. 

Pyrrha knows the feeling.

She used to feel it every time to spoke to Jaune, with every fruitless hint she let slip.

Pyrrha knows then, with wonderful clarity, that the kiss hadn’t been thrown in to catch her off guard, that Ruby hadn’t been planning to do it at all.

That she was terrified of what her own momentum might have propelled them both into.

“Best two out of three?”

Pyrrha offers, giddiness ringing in her undertone, in the beaming grin she couldn’t hide even if she tried.

Hearing it is enough to knock the mountain of anxiety off of Ruby’s shoulders.

“Yes, please.” Ruby sighs in relief as she reaches to take Pyrrha’s offered hand.

They grasp forearms and Ruby heaves Pyrrha to her feet, smaller girl switching from peering down to craning her head up to as she does so.

And there is something about the angle, about bright eyes so fond and not at all bothered by the difference in heights, that makes Pyrrha bend, gently brush Ruby’s dark hair aside and bridge all twelve inches of distance with her own little kiss.

Just the faint tickle of blushing skin against her lips but something about it feels like more than hope.

It feels like a start.

The look Ruby gives her afterward tells her it is one.

It’s an end as well, Pyrrha sees it in the teary sheen of silver, in the blur of her own eyes and tight ache curling around her throat.

This is the end of her old dreams and Ruby’s- this is love’s last desperate hold slipping away- She might still wonder what life would have been like with Jaune and yet her thoughts will be just that, intangible musings instead of dreams.

The same is true of the girl before her, she is sure. If Weiss’s interest in someone ever makes Ruby jealous again, it won’t be as anything than a friend. 

So this is an ending.

But it’s a happy ending.

They are together, laughing as scythe and sword make tricky their suddenly fierce hold on each other, neither willing to let go of their weapons or let them get in the way.

They are a match of power and speed as they step back into their stances, into a sparring session that is not a lesson and not a competition but a more of a dance, done for the fun, the thrill of trust and surprises with no other strings attached.

They are taking a chance on a promise of many tomorrows like today.

‘They’, Pyrrha thinks and is sure she will never get tired of smiling or of the scent of rose petals as they whirl playfully in the air around her.

If it’s with Ruby, then she somehow can’t help but be incredibly happy to start again.


End file.
